Heart of Man

trovato28 @GreenLife52 Mr. Green, the airport in D.C. is calling your name

GreenLife52 @trovato28 You flew into the one I told you to, yeah?

trovato28 @GreenLife52 Yep. Now please hurry! D: I’m hungry!

GreenLife52 @trovato28 I’ll call when I get close. Be about 15 minutes. #bananaishungry

trovato28 @GreenLife52 #bananaisgoingtoeatyou

Reading through the Twitter conversation, it had been a good twenty minutes since I had sent the tweet. Surely he didn’t live that far away, that it took that long, if he told me to come to this port. Nearly jumping at the vibrating phone, trying not to fall out of my chair. Fumbling to hit the green button, I held the phone to my ear. “You here?”

“Yes ma’am. C16, right?” Confirming the gate I was waiting in, I grabbed my equipment bag and duffle bag, slinging the latter over my shoulder. “I’m parking, so hang tight.”

Slipping my phone back into its pocket, I stepped through the masses of people. Easily reaching the other side of C16’s baggage claim, my hands dumped the two bags onto one of the chairs. My body had been put through a lot of strain the past week or so, back to back games, playing a game, waking up to go to the Parade, and then fly into DC right before midday was not fun.

Looking around for the defenseman, I crossed my arms purposefully. This would be the first time I’d actually spend time with Mike Green off of the ice, outside of the hockey world. It was..

It was nice.

Seeing a guy in jeans and a red t-shirt reach for my belongings, I cleared my throat, freezing them. “Excuse me, just what do you think you are doing?”

“Noooooothing.” The man in question looked up, a broad smile on his face. Smiling back at Mike, he pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head, before he wrapped his arms around my waist, into a hug. Unable to keep from instinctively giggling, I hugged him back affectionately.

“Thank you for coming to get me.”

“Did you really think I would leave you hanging?” He scoffed playfully, his laughter humming against me, before letting me go. Grabbing my bag, he picked up my equipment bag and pulled it over his shoulder. “Are you really hungry, or just playing around?”

As we turned the corner to the exit door, he wrapped his free arm around my shoulder. We emptied out into the grey skies that Washington D.C. had to offer, before he directed me to the small red mustang sitting still. Pulling away long enough to pop the truck, I walked to the front passenger seat, patiently waiting for Mike to finish.

Situating myself in the passenger seat, it wasn’t long before we were off towards his house. “I’m mostly tired.”

He let out a loud laugh, winking at me. “No can do, Anna. Have to get your sleeping schedule back on track, so no sleeping until tonight.”

“Mike!” I whined, my mouth gaping at the man.

“Unless you plan on using that, then zip it.” Snapping my mouth shut at his teasing tone, I punched his arm. “Hey! You know I’m only joking!”

Smirking at the man, the most wonderful thought ever came to me. Turning my phone’s camera on, I raised the center compartment up and scooted next to him. Wrapping my arm around his neck, he pushed his cheek against mine, smiling widely for the picture. Mimicking him, I pressed the button, the snapping sound indicating the picture was saved.

Resuming my position in my normal seat, I uploaded the picture to Twitter, and then set it as my profile picture. “Vespa in the garage, I take it?”

trovato28 Look who I found! http://yfrog.com/f4e6y

“Yeah. They make them in Italy, you know.”

Sticking my tongue out at the older Canadian, I nodded. “One of the guys I played with, his dad was one of the CEO’s, so we were in the loop for a while.”

No thanks to my dad, of course. I couldn’t play with regular kids, but only people that were ‘socially acceptable’ for me to play with. In other words, people he approved for me to more than likely marry into and keep him a prime figurehead in Italy.

“Speaking of, did you ever find a car?” He cocked an eyebrow, glancing at me, before taking the exit ramp towards Alexandria.

“Not really. I mean, I know what I like to drive, but I don’t know where to find them in America.” Shrugging at the man, I really didn’t know what I wanted to drive in the U.S.A. It was different, and you couldn’t just dive head first. At least, I didn’t think so. “Jaromir’s using my Porsche back in Omsk, so that rules that option out.”

“What kind do you like?”

“Fast.” That was the only answer I had for the man. I had always driven faster than I should have. It just came natural, and soon became a thrill to test.

“We could call Ovie or Sasha. They’d probably be able to help you more in that ar-..”

“NO!”

Mike silently pulled up the red light, before stopping. He began tapping his fingers against the steering wheel, obviously deep in thought. “Semin doesn’t know you’re here, does he?”

“No, and it’s going to stay with way.”

~

“It’s beautiful. Congratulations again, by the way.”

Nodding towards him, I slipped the gold medal I earned with Finland the day before, into the temporary dresser in Mike’s spare room. “Thanks for letting me stay with you.”

“It’s not a problem. Better do my laundry, woman.” Mike placed his hand on my lower back, and steered me out of the rom. “You made me tired, so it’s now nap time.”

Opening his bedroom door, he quickly stepped in, and handed me one of the pillows. “Just in case you need an extra. I’ll wake you up before dinner?”

Smiling at the gesture, I slipped out of the room. The exhaustion was dreadful, and I was pretty much walking around a living zombie, barely comprehending anything. Walking back into my guest room, I didn’t even have the energy to close the door. If I hadn’t taken off my shoes at the door, I would have forgotten to take those off also.

Collapsing on the bed, I snuggled up to the pillow, eager to replenish the lost energy. But a firmer grip on reality would be nice also.